Ask a caveman why he doesn’t spend more time reading, and the answer may be that every minute of the day is spent foraging for food, running from dinosaurs, or generally trying to ensure the moment-to-moment survival of the human race. Today even the busiest humans live a bit more comfortably with more time for leisure and more choices of how to spend that time.
How many times a day do you choose popular culture over literary culture? I frequently tell myself “read or rot” because I too struggle to find the right balance. We need to be reminded of the consequences of choosing not to read or improve our minds and of the truth that this literary drought is—to a degree—our choice.
Even “The First American,” Ben Franklin, found it necessary to schedule time to read. Try measuring your activities in small increments of time on a typical day (I found that using an oven timer to schedule tasks helps me gain focus). The typical American rots in front of the tv thirty-five hours a week according to last year’s Philadelphia Inquirer report on an A.C. Nielsen survey–that’s nearly a full-time job. By choosing reading over rotting just two hours a week, the average reader could finish seventeen books a year. Here are some suggestions related to balancing your time to get you started:
Trudie Gauerke 
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